Cal. Government Code § 19829

(a) Salary ranges shall consist of minimum and maximum salary limits. The department shall provide for intermediate steps within these limits to govern the extent of the salary adjustment that an employee may receive at any one time; provided, that in classes and positions with unusual conditions or hours of work or where necessary to meet the provisions of state law recognizing differential statutory qualifications within a profession or prevailing rates and practices for comparable services in other public employment and in private business, the department may establish more than one salary range or rate or method of compensation within a class. (b) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 3517.5, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if the provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.